stood like a hollow tooth luckily the gothic style was still all the rage until the mid 15th century and transport was determined to finish its prestige project. so by 1439 the highest church tower at the time reached a height of 142 meters. when things are too perfect people sometimes lose interest in them and by the end of the 15th century the public it seemed too much of the ever more finely carved stone. the pulpit in strasbourg made by master builder hans hammer can perhaps be seen as both the high point of and farewell to 300 years of gothic architecture.

but what the builders created we inherit and inheriting is not always easy inheritance is also a mission. when in the 19th century these pillars began to sink under the weight of an singer's tower it was clear that a cathedral of this size is never finished. just asked for cathedral museum the former masons lodge has a book of photos that document a nearly 20 years long battle to preserve the minster this is a family portrait with johann cannot later celebrated as the savior of the minster . can out a native of cologne and his team succeeded in an engineering feat without which strasbourg cathedral. would probably not be standing to games the

problem was the pillar and its foundation that was too weak. it was not only sinking but leaning to one side and threatening to collapse and crash through the name. now developed a bold plan to envelop the pillar in reinforced concrete. this meters thick mental was to be based on a foundation ring cast out of pressure resistant reinforced concrete so the ground under the pillar had to be dug up and replaced by a concrete base. using hydraulic presses it would be possible to raise the pillar again the hydraulic press acting laterally would correct the twist to the left it was all a question of mathematics and engineering science at the start of the 20th century

. here. look at these amazing photos from 922 of the incredible reinforcement. 7 meters of this giant pillar its sheath in a reinforced concrete corset that. bach this was the biggest restoration measure carried out on cathedral and it contributed significantly toward securing the cathedral tower and the entire building. they worked directly beneath the pillar under a weight of 10 and a half 1000 tons. and then came the moment when the concrete course it had to be removed again. sandstone

is softer than reinforced concrete and very sensitive. in october 926 the rescue of the minster was celebrated with a lot of fanfare. but you one count was not present as a german he had been expelled from what was now france. ok cathedral architects work is never done in oem underlays boom is in charge of a project to repair or replace damage stones there are $4500.00 of them marked in blue or yellow on the diagram. in the case of the own minister the stonemasons needed a century to carry out

a thorough renovation and once that was over the next 100 years began and that is the way it's always been. for nuffin 1st and that's why north east i found a book from 141-0021 person wrote i my once on a sunday the people were at the nearing service when 2 stones fell down from the vaulted ceiling a minister started to think we were scared it would fall over. probably the problems are the same as today. stones don't fall from the ceiling nowadays. but to ensure that it stays that way even the tiniest cracks in the building have to be regularly monitored.

and players burned does that with this cannon like device. with a laser he pinpoints the often in excessively high cracks and with a telescope he can recognize whether and when the walls might break apart. it's ok i've got it. now it's sharp. this crack has in fact shrunk by 3 millimeters. you know there are hardly any changes compared to last year. we're looking at about a 10th so that's ok. that's

a relief the table of measurements goes back to the 19th century a time at which investigations turned up quite different values. in the 850 s. irreverent caricature has appeared poking fun at the half finished and dilapidated state of the building. the tower was not even 100 meters tall but it was dangerously shaky the well behaved passers by slink by in silence the police caution those who speak on obliquely a sign warns talking loudly on minster square is forbidden. it seems the risk was so high that loud conversation or laughter could cause the beautiful gothic structure to tumble down. 170 year old photographs reveal the truly pitiful state of this super building which had hardly been worked on since luther's time. but now in the mid 1900

century it was time to rescue the minsters as in stross book buttresses in the original style were added to stabilize the shaky walls of the navy. and the east towers planned in and singers time were finally erected. and at the entrance soon a super tower rose high one which might have pleased old rich and singer to nohant . a group photo with the capstone which seen up close is truly impressive. so around 1900 the minster envisioned by the citizens of own 500 years earlier was finally completed for the moment.

it soon became clear that the world's new tallest church tower was so heavy that it destabilized the entire building. a rescue plan was needed. and it can be seen down here. at the end of a basement shaft. the heart of steel that holds it all together. i mean they are fought on and off these 14 crops still pieces were derived from experiences in building mines to retrofit the tower still parts were heated to $380.00 degrees celsius and then these clamps were tightened and as it cooled the

steel was pulled together. and live and all 14 still parts exerted tensile force of a 1000 tons to hold the minster tower together and stabilize the entire building. did the architects 6 centuries ago building ever higher to leave their cathedrals would last this long. their faith in god clearly led them to presume they would succeed. and they were right. daniel wagner and andre young are natives of own and their church is still the highest in the world. to celebrate that superglue to if they thought up

a special trip they plan to fly a camera drone to capture the beauty of the minster in a single take. they should so i'd say let's take it over ministers where you can slowly up the minster towards the flying buttresses and then through it as you know it i would yes and i go relatively 2223 meters through. and then go down through the buttresses and then emerge but with these buttresses we are around 20 to 25 meters would he and then here all the way up to $86.00 and then circle around us you mean up to the topic of you know yes once around the outside let's go super . as it were for have a good flight. player

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out our podcast wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. science. this is news to live from berlin and india appeals for help as hospitals scramble to secure oxygen in the e.u. pleasures fresh aid to india as the covert crisis threatens to turn into a catastrophe hospitals are overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers of critically ill patients daily new infections are in the hundreds of thousands also on the program

more than 80 people die after a fire sweeps through a covert ward in a baghdad hospital prime minister calls for an investigation.